• Michel Roig, President of Payment & Access at Fingerprint Cards


• 02.02.2023 12:00 pm
#DigitalIdentity

2022 proved to be an exciting year as the use of biometric technology expanded rapidly. In the payments ecosystem, major commercial banks continued to rollout innovative biometric cards and momentum increased steadily as users experienced the heightened convenience, hygiene and security of contactless biometric payments.

Payments security represents only a portion of the growth in biometrics, though. New use cases for secure access solutions fueled innovations, raising consumer awareness and creating further demand.

Let’s take a look at some of the trends, developments and players responsible for making 2022 a big year for biometrics and ensuring the foundations are in place for a transformative 2023.

Global demand grows for contactless biometrics payments cards

It’s not surprising that cards now beat cash as the most popular method for in-store purchases. Globally, 73% of in-store payments are made using cards, with 50% of these being contactless. The boom in contactless payments comes at a price, however, as the lack of authentication threatens to widen the gap between security and convenience.

At the same time, evolving banking regulations are working to enhance security for digital transactions. Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), required by the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2), is pushing the contactless payments market to enhance authentication.

For in-store contactless card payments, SCA requirements are met through PIN input when reaching spending limits. This is clunky and confusing for users. As are spending caps. Additionally, half of regular contactless users are worried about the lack of security if their card is lost or stolen. With biometric payment cards, consumers experience both security and convenience for in-store contactless transactions as only the authorized user can make purchases. Plus, it eliminates the need for a spending cap.

The people making it happen…

Several global players are championing efforts to meet this spike in demand for biometric security.

Infineon Technologies is collaborating with us on the development of a plug-and-play turnkey solution for biometric payment smart cards. Infineon’s goal is to make biometric smart card production as simple and easy as producing a standard dual-interface payment card. In parallel, FEITIAN unveiled a new solution, using our technology, that enables biometric authentication to be executed entirely within Infineon’s newly approved secure element.

Tag Systems has also launched an advanced biometric payment card solution with us so that banks and fintech companies can offer their cardholders enhanced convenience and security.

Together, Technical Equipment & Supplies Company (Tesco) and Fingerprints are supporting the adoption of contactless biometric payment cards in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Meanwhile, the launch of two more biometric payment card solutions in Morocco underscores the widespread demand for the adoption of biometric security solutions across MENA.

In Asia, the Beautiful Card Corporation (BCC), a leading card manufacturer based in Taiwan, is collaborating with us on the development and launch of cards with biometric authentication for payment transactions as well as for physical and logical access applications.

The rise of biometric security for cryptocurrency

Consumers are increasingly relying on biometrics to authenticate payments, but traditional finance is not the only sector benefiting.

Cryptocurrencies represent a new frontier for biometric security applications as Decentralized Finance (DeFi) proliferates. Security is always a concern, but particularly for the high volume and value transactions made by the bulk of cryptocurrency users. Introducing biometric authentication to improve secure storage and access to cryptocurrency makes sense because it can provide an additional layer of security to cryptocurrency storage and authentication.

Growth and innovation in biometric access control

The proliferation of biometric solutions for access control has sparked innovative new solutions to support the design needs of this dynamic market. At the same time, the rise in remote work has created new challenges for biometric physical and logical access control solutions and enterprise cybersecurity teams have been forced to rethink access control while confronting highly sophisticated threats.

New biometric technology, such as sensor innovations, offer new levels of security functionality that support many different applications and use cases. Components with improved power consumption, smaller profiles, and interoperable designs are enabling the creation of new access control solutions, like Freevolt’s S-Key, that aim to bridge the gap between physical and logical access and provide a unified access security solution.

Smart locks ensure faster, safer, and more convenient user experience

The Internet of Things (IoT) revolution means many people now lead increasingly connected lives, demanding a new level of functionality from common household items. The drawback to connected living is the need for users to constantly authenticate themselves when doing routine tasks. Today’s consumers need a seamless way to access and authenticate across a growing list of devices found in smart homes and buildings.

Biometrics can be the gateway to smarter living, replacing vulnerable physical keys, passwords and PINs and making people the keys to smart homes and buildings. Biometrics can help users to seamlessly enter their homes, manage smart alarm and entertainment systems, access personal preferences and set parental controls. In a single motion, users can secure valuables like bikes, suitcases and safes or restrict access to hazardous areas such as medicine cabinets and cleaning cupboards.

Nuki is one of the companies using biometric technology to make homes smarter. This European leader of smart access solutions has launched a new smart keypad that uses fingerprint sensors to ensure faster, more secure and convenient unlocking of smart doors. 

Access control solutions create the ‘workplace of the future’

Homes are not the only place getting smarter and more secure with biometric access control solutions. Modern, digital-first workplaces are integrating biometric technology into employee workflows in accordance with zero-trust security frameworks. For logical access, biometrics can be viewed as the first step in zero-trust strategies creating secure unified authentication for the hybrid work environment.

Passwordless authentication for control access provides hybrid workforces with additional, robust protection that a modern-day business requires. With the help of biometric technology, passwords will soon become a relic of the past. One example of this is SmartDisplayer’s FIDO2 biometric card, working to bring trust to a wide range of logical access applications.

The innovation and R&D driving the growth of biometrics

Fingerprints is proud of the role played in driving innovation and moving the biometric technology industry forward. In fact, the team is so committed to innovation that more than 50% of the total workforce is made up of highly skilled R&D and customer engineering professionals, including experts in biometrics, electronics, materials technology, algorithms, coding and production technology.

Because of all these people, in 2022, Fingerprints hit key milestones, including:

• Achieving 500 registered global patents, ranging from extending from sensors and hardware packaging technology to algorithms, biometric image processing and system
• Biometric sensors integrated into more than 600 different mobile device models
• 1.5 billion sensors shipped worldwide since 2014
• The T-Shape sensor module and software platform achieved compliance with Mastercard’s new Fingerprint Sensor Evaluation process.

As biometric technology continues to be deployed across new applications and use cases, Fingerprints will remain at the forefront of research and development, ensuring that the highest level of innovation is possible across all verticals and sectors – enabling greater privacy, security, and stronger authentication for consumers around the world.

In 2023, we will continue to innovate, support our customers worldwide to enhance products and solutions with biometric smartness. Get in touch to explore how biometrics could enhance the convenience and security of your product or solution